A couple of months ago I bought a pair of Zeiss “Classic Compact” 10x25s.I wanted something to stick in my backpack when I travel for work for casual use on whatever happened to catch my attention.Both size & weight are a factor and the loss of low light performance didn’t really matter for this purpose.I realize now that I didn’t think the process through well enough.10X gives me too much jitter, which is my problem, not the optics.Also, this model is only ‘splash proof’ and I probably should have gotten waterproof since I live in western Washington State.I am currently considering Nikon’s 8x20 Premier LX Compact and the Zeiss 8x20 Victory.I thought I would ask the Optic Wizards if they have other ideas or other thoughts on this before I try again.

Also consider Leica 8X20 Ultravid or Trinovid, as well as Swarovski pocket binoculars 8x20.

If you are also considering something cheaper Minox BR 8x24 BD are not bad as are Kowa BD25 8x25 binos and Zeiss Conquest 8x20. Another decent option is IOR 8x21.

With tiny binoculars like these, I find that I am distinctly bothered by very small exit pupils. Personally, I would find a place where you can try them out. While the optical quality of the Leica/Swarovski/Zeiss is noticeably better than that of the cheaper binoculars, larger exit pupil of Minox and Kowa has some appeal.

I've heard from other experts the Ultravids are the best. Second are the Swaros and the Nikon premiers.

Then the Zeiss Victories followed by the Trinovids.

I bought the Zeiss 8x20 Victories and have been very happy with them.

My first choice was the Ultravids but they are a few hundred out of my budget. The only reason I didn't buy the Nikons or the Swaros was because the focus knob is in the front. And the Trinovids are yesterday's technology.

Thank you all for your inputs.I went by Sportsman’s Warehouse this afternoon and got to try the Ultravids, Victories, and the Swarovski (they were out of the Nikon).It is going to be a really tough call to pick between them.For some strange personal ergonomic reason it took a little bit longer to find the field of view in the Ultravids than the other two.I am going to go back tomorrow and ask if I can try them outside.They will normally do that if they are not too busy.I will also see if they have the Kowa or Minox.

I went back to Sportsman’s Warehouse today at lunch and got to take all three outside.Checked out the Olympic Mountains, nearby buildings, the cute brunette going to Costco, etc.To my Optic Grasshopper eye, they all presented an excellent view, a really tough call to pick one over the other.However, I still had to ‘fiddle’ with the Leica more to get on target and had better luck with the Zeiss and the Swarovski.“Cool Factor” entered in and I was leaning toward the Swarovski because I had always wanted one of those.Then the salesman mentioned that they were having a “we pay the sales tax’ sale (8.6%) plus I got another 5% for being retired military.So… the Swarovski followed me home.

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